Rafael Palmeiro

We're not Orioles fans, and we despise Peter Angelos, but we have to pause from our Nationals rants and say something about Rafael Palmeiro. On Friday night Palmeiro had two hits and thereby entered the 3,000 hit club, something only 25 other players have ever done. And he became only the fourth player in the history of baseball to hit 500 homeruns and 3,000 hits. Palmeiro hasn't won an MVP, hasn't been the best player at his position, and hasn't received a lot of notoriety, but he has quietly been a great player. Via baseball-reference.com, the five players whose stats are most similar to Palmeiro's are Frank Robinson, Eddie Murray, Reggie Jackson, Mel Ott, and Dave Winfield, all of them Hall of Famers. That's pretty good company and a pretty good indication that Palmeiro is a great player and a lock to make the Hall of Fame.